Nabil Bentaleb’s new five-year contract announcement came on Monday, much to the joy of the White Hart Lane faithful, and the 20-year old sat down with Spurs TV to share his thoughts on the journey so far.

When asked about the whirlwind nature of the past twelve months – including a World Cup, African Cup of Nations and the securing of a first team berth at Spurs – the Algerian spoke of the difficulty of appreciating his considerable feats.

“When you’re living it, you don’t really realise… it’s only in the summer break, when on holiday and people remind you of your achievements, that you take time to think about them.”

The main reason for his inability to dwell on past success is his burning desire to constantly progress and it’s a mentality which has had many referring to him as a future Spurs captain.

“No matter what you do, you will always want more. That’s the way I see it and I will always push harder and want more,” said Bentaleb.

“Nothing is achieved in football, you have to fight all the time and improve all the time otherwise for me, it’s a failure.”

He added: “That (mentality) is what brought me to where I am now and why would I stop doing something that brought me this far?”

It’s an pertinent question and one that suggests the Spurs man has avoided many of the pitfalls that regularly snare up-and-coming footballers in the modern game.

His words off the pitch demonstrate a maturity far beyond his tender years - much like his performances on it - and everything seems to be in place for the elegant Algerian to continue on his footballing ascent.